Photograph by: Handout photos
, Vancouver Sun

Finding the right plants to grow in the shade can be one of the toughest challenges for gardeners.

Dry shade, in particular, can be a nightmare. Many gardeners give up out of frustration and settle for gravel or bark mulch.

Graham Rice, Kew-trained British garden guru, agrees that dry shade is indeed the "most inhospitable part of any garden", but he says it is no reason to abandon dry shade areas as "dark deserts."

In his first-rate book, Planting the Dry Shade Garden, he starts by asking us to be realistic. "Obviously, plants that demand bright light and constant moisture are foolish choices."

Ideal plants are usually the ones with the following qualities : They lose less moisture through their leaves; have roots, rhizomes, tubers, stems or other organs that tend to store water; are evergreen, so they can make the most of available light at any time of year; and start their annual life cycle early, so they collect as much light as possible early in the season when the leaf canopy overhead is still thin.

Ivy does not have the evil reputation in Europe that it has here as a ruthless invader, so Rice would find some opposition here to his suggestions for ivy as a good climber for dry shade.

But his other suggestions are perfect, including Hydrangea anomala petiolaris (climbing hydrangea), Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Boston ivy).

In the perennial department, he likes Acanthus mollis (bear's breeches), a plant that is widely used for dry shade areas in most Italian gardens.

Arum gets the thumbs up along with bergenia (elephant's ears), Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian bugloss) - especially the more attractive 'Jack Frost' cultivar - Carex 'Ice Dance', one of the most reliable ornamental grasses, and Corydalis lutea (fumewort), which has pretty yellow flowers and a free-seeding habit.

Ferns, of course, are a natural consideration, especially species of Polystichum (shield fern) and cultivars of Dryopteris affinis, such as "Cristata'.

The ground cover Galium odoratum (sweet woodruff) is one of Rice's picks along with Pulmonaria (lungwort) and Epidemium (barrenwort), but he also includes luzulu grass (woodrush) and liriope.

Vinca (periwinkle) and Pachysandra terminalis (Japanese spurge) are two shade-loving ground cover plants that are very familiar to West Coast gardeners, but Symphytum (comfrey) is something you see used more widely in English country gardens and lamium (dead nettle) is one that, like ivy, is also on the no-can-use invasive plant hit-list.

I was personally pleased to see Rice include Geranium macrorrhizum, which I believe is possibly the best allaround ground cover, especially for dry shade areas as it flowers beautiful, has lightly scented leaves and is evergreen.

But try to buy it at the garden centre; it's surprisingly not widely available. It is at most English nurseries.

But there are other geraniums worth considering, says Rice, such as the widow geranium (G. phaeum) and the indefatigable G. oxonianum. "Dry conditions thankfully curtail its vigour," says Rice. Star performers in this group include 'Wargrave Pink', and 'A.T. Johnson.' Euphorbias get a mention because they can tolerate super-dry conditions, but they do also require some sun. Heucheras also get a prominent mention as easy-care shade-tolerant plants.

And we all know that hostas are slavish, workhorse plants that will strive desperately to thrive anywhere. But Rice includes them as a possible choice for dry shade, along with the day lily Hemerocallis 'Flore Pleno'. I think they would need a sip or too of water to keep them healthy.

"Gardeners may be relieved, and perhaps slightly skeptical, to know that these familiar perennials can do well in dry shade," he says.

"A little skepticism is wise, for some hostas can thrive in these tough conditions and those who do benefit from help to get established."

Dry shade is arguably the most challenging environment. But it is important to remember that there are many other degrees of shade: light shade, wet shade, dappled shade, open shade.

The Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden, north of Seattle, has also produced a list of recommended shade plants this year as part of its annual Great Plant Picks educational program.

Its Made in the Shade list is divided into plants for four key categories of shade: light, open, dappled and deep. There are 14 plants recommended for each section.

Some of the selections for deep shade are the same as the ones in Rice's book, such as aucuba, mahonia, sarcococca, hosta, but it also features some that are more popular in the Pacific Northwest like Oxalis oregano, European wild ginger (Asarum europaeum) and the maidenhair fern (Adiantum aleuticum) along with the deer fern (Blechnum spicant).

Somewhat conspicuous by their absence are rhododendrons and azaleas, among the classiest of all plants for shady sites. Perhaps they will be featured in a future list.

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